Since you’ve sponsored the children for over 2 years now, you can request Compassion that your contact information will be sent to them once they graduate from the program. You’ll have to sign a release form and you also need to know that there are some things that you would need to be aware of. For one, your letters won’t be translated anymore of course. You might get a letter requesting money, while you don’t know if this is from them or if this is from someone, who poses like them. So, there are some “risks” involved.

Kees

I like how you put that…and I fully agree with you. Prayer is so important, and our children have to know we are thinking about them, care about who they are and that we want to share our lives with them. This is why letter writing is so important and crucial. “Compati” is about “suffering with” our children, not just throwing them money and feeling good about our good deeds.

Thanks for the tip. I will ensure to emphasize the importance of letter writing more in my presentations.

Josh.

Also, to reassure you, we do have ways to communicate to sponsors who haven’t written their child. For those sponsors who have not written in the past six months, we do two things:

1. We send a letter reminding them the importance of writing their child and with the letter we send a postcard to make it easy for them to write a note to send their child. In this letter we emphasize the importance of letter writing

2.We send them an alert in My Account letting them know it has been over 6 months since their child has received a letter and we link them to the email form for them to contact their child.

It is extremely encouraging to see you all so passionate about the letter writing process and the importance of encouraging your sponsored child! Keep up the good work!

Hi, Vicki,

I agree. I always tell new sponsors that sponsorship involves 3 things:

1. Prayer
2. Writing a letter from time to time.
3. the $38

Then I tell them that the order is on purpose and that each of these ingredients are like ingredients in an applepie, e.e. one is missing the whole pie tastes bad.

I think it should be on the acceptance form in the child packet. I’ve had one sponsor telling me that he didn’t sign up for letter writing, but for a local church in that community to take care of everything.

A lot is related to how Compassion is presented. In a Western audience, when poverty is presented, it is translated to a lack of money, thus the sponsor will think that the money alone solves the problem. But the poverty is much more than just a lack of money. It is a lack of hope, a lack of the Gospel.

Thus the letter writing is extremely important and it should always be emphasized in a presentation.

Blessings,

Kees